Game of Chance and a Method of Awarding a Bonus Prize in a Game of Chance

ABSTRACT

A method of playing a game of chance, such as poker, using a plurality of cards, the game having a bonus feature, the method including the steps of: (a) designating one or more of the cards as a bonus trigger; (b) dealing one or more cards to each player&#39;s hand; (c) evaluating each player&#39;s hand to determine if it is a winning hand; (d) determining if the or each winning hand is participating in the bonus feature; (e) determining if any winning hand includes a bonus card; (f) awarding a bonus to the or each winning hand which was participating in the bonus feature and which includes a bonus card. Players can elect to participate in the bonus feature by placing a side bet.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a game of chance and skill, a method ofawarding a bonus prize in a game of chance and apparatus for enablingthe game. In particular, the invention can be applied to a card gamewhich is suited for use in a casino and which can be played either as atable game or on an electronic gaming machine (EGM) or the like.

In this specification, the term “game of chance” is used to denote bothgames in which the result is determined randomly and games in which theplayer places value at risk (as in a bet or wager) and may exercise someskill or judgment but in which the outcome is influenced to some degreeby chance. Most common casino table and wagering card games such aspoker and other games including those referred to in the specificationare considered to be games of chance for the purpose of thisspecification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In this specification unless the contrary is expressly stated, where adocument, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, thisreference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act oritem of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date,publicly available, known to the public, part of common generalknowledge; or known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problemwith which this specification is concerned.

Card games that involve playing against a dealer, playing against apaytable or both are limited in the variety they can offer. Card gamestraditionally use complete decks of cards (e.g., 52 cards) and onoccasions, use Joker cards or specialty cards to create certain gameplay elements and hands for players. The use of a designated set ofcards which is familiar to the players in many instances allows theplayers to calculate what their chances are of winning. This is notusually the case with slot machines. This is because individual symboldistributions are not necessarily published, and symbol probabilitiescan be weighted by mapping and software techniques unknown to players.

There are many wagering games used for gambling. Such games should beexciting to arouse players' interest and uncomplicated so they can beunderstood easily by a large number of players. Ideally, the gamesshould include one or more wagering opportunities during the course ofthe game, yet be able to be played rapidly to a wager resolving outcome.Exciting play, the opportunity to make more than one wager and rapidwager resolution enhance players' interest and enjoyment because thefrequency of betting opportunities and bet resolutions is increased.

Wagering games, particularly those intended primarily for play incasinos, should provide players with a sense of participation andcontrol, the opportunity to make decisions, and reasonable odds ofwinning. The game must also meet the requirements of regulatoryagencies.

Another element of play in casino games and particularly casino tablecard games is the wagering structure. There are a multitude of cardgames that are based on one or more decks of conventional playing cards.Among the most popular of these games is poker, wherein a player'sfortunes are determined by a well-known hierarchy of card combinations.Card games that are variants of poker are also very popular, such as LetIt Ride™ stud poker, Caribbean Stud™ poker, Three Card™, poker,Crazy-4-Poker™ game and the like. This is due, at least in part, to thebasic nature of the underlying game itself, combining elements of bothstrategy and luck. Additionally, poker-variants allow an existingplayer-base to capitalize on their pre-existing knowledge of a game andto apply that knowledge in novel settings. The two most popular forms oftraditional poker are draw poker and stud poker.

In a conventional hand of 5-card draw poker, a single 52-card deck ofshuffled playing cards is used. Each player begins a hand bycontributing an initial or “ante” bet to a common pool or “pot”, the potultimately going to the owner of the winning hand. The dealer thendistributes five face-down cards to each player, the remaining cards inthe deck being set aside for later use. Each player evaluates the cardsthat he or she has been dealt and each, in turn, is given an opportunityto discard one or more of the original five (5) cards from the dealthand. The dealer gives the player replacement cards for those cards thathave been discarded by dealing additional cards face-down from the topof the remaining cards in the deck. Following the deal, one or morerounds of betting take place, during which time each player may make aninitial raise, a check wager, fold (drop-out), match a previous raise,re-raise or raise a previous bet. The meanings of these wagering termsare well known to those skilled in the art and typical definitions ofsame may be found in, for example, Hoyle's Rules of Games, pp. 75-102,by Morehead and Mot-Smith, 1963, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference. At the conclusion of all of the wagering rounds,the players display their hands and the holder of the highest rankingpoker hand takes all of the money in the pot. Low hand and split-potvariants of the game are also common.

Stud poker is the most popular form of “open poker,” wherein each playeris dealt some cards (but less than all cards to enable bluffing andstrategic play) that are face-up and, hence, available for viewing bythe other players. Stud poker commonly comes in at least two varieties:5-card and 7-card, the two being of approximately equal popularity.Other games with different numbers of cards such as 2-card, three-card,four-card and six-card poker may also be played with similar rules. Infive-card stud poker, the dealer gives each player a face-down (or“hole” card) and a face-up card. Thus, at the start of each round ofplay each player knows his own two cards and one card of each of hisopponents. After the first two cards are dealt, a wagering round ensues,during which time each player contributes his or her wager to the pot orfolds, losing the ante wager and forfeiting any chance at winning thepot. A typical description of the rules that govern this round might befound in, for example, Hoyle's Rules of Games, pp. 75-102, by Moreheadand Mot-Smith, 1963, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference. After the wagering round, another card is dealt face-up toeach player. This is followed by another wagering round. Alternatingdealing and wagering rounds continue until each player has a total offive cards: four face-up cards and a concealed hole card. After thefinal bets have been placed, each player who has not dropped out duringthe deal/wager rounds reveals his or her hole card. The owner of thehighest ranking 5-card poker hand wins and takes whatever amount is inthe pot. Equal high hands would split the pot.

Seven-card stud poker differs slightly from 5-card poker. First, in7-card poker each player typically initially receives two cardsface-down and one card face-up. A bidding round then ensues. The dealerthen gives each player another face-up card, which is followed again bya bidding round. Deals (of one face-up card) and bids are alternateduntil each player has four face-up cards and two face-down cards.Finally, a third and final face-down card is dealt to each player(making a total of seven cards). This is followed by a last biddinground. The winner of the hand is the player who can form the highestranking 5-card poker hand from his seven cards.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, five-card poker handswithout wild cards are ranked from “Royal Flush” (highest) to “HighCard(s) in Hand” (lowest). In some variations of poker, the ace may alsoact as the lowest card in the deck to form a straight when used in asequence like A, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Additionally, a “wild card”—often the“joker” card may be designated, so that a person who holds that card maydeclare its value to be that of any card in the deck, the presumptionbeing that the declared card value will help that player form a betterpoker hand.

At its core, poker is a vehicle for gambling. Commonly the quantitieswagered are monetary, but that is not strictly required and poker chips,credits, matches, and other non-pecuniary tokens have been used in placeof money to help the players determine who is winning with or withoutexposing them to financial loss. Of course, casinos are in the businessof providing people with the opportunity to gamble and, given thepopularity of poker among the general populous, it only stands to reasonthat casinos would desire to offer this game in some form or another tothose who seek to play it. However, conventional-rules,player-versus-player poker is not particularly well suited for use in acasino.

A casino that offers traditional poker to its clientele typically doesso by providing a dealer and a room in which to play, but the casino'sdealer does not actually participate in the game as a player. His or herdealer function is just to distribute the cards and referee the game.The casino makes its money by taking some percent of all of the moneywagered (the “rake”) or by leasing the room to the participants. Thecost of the lease may be measured in time (e.g., a fixed amount perhour) or by a count of the number of hands played. Traditional pokergames are not particularly favoured by casinos because the casino doesnot make as much money acting as a landlord as it would if it were anactive participant in the game.

Similarly, from the standpoint of the gaming public, traditional pokerhas some disadvantages which have tended to make it less desirable as acasino game. First, traditional poker is readily available “at home,”e.g., at the Friday night poker session, and there is no particular needfor most people to travel to a casino to play it. Second, when anindividual wins at traditional poker, it is at the expense of the otherplayers/participants. Third, private poker games are not subject to thehouse rake, so that all money played in the game remain with players,thereby lowering potential losses to the entire group of players andraising the amount of money taken home by the entire group of players.Many people prefer to play against the “house” (i.e., the casino) sothat their winning hand does not necessarily result in a loss by afellow player, who may be an acquaintance. Finally, traditional pokerdoes not offer the excitement associated with “jackpot” type games. Thatis, a royal flush in traditional poker—as improbable as that cardcombination is—will result in winning only the amount in the pot andnothing more. Many players seek out games where there is somepossibility of “winning big,” an option that is not available underconventional poker rules.

As a consequence of these disadvantages, casinos have introduced avariety of poker-type game variants to address the shortcomingsdiscussed previously. One obvious advantage of these variant poker-typegames from the casino's point of view is that the casino becomes anactive participant in the game (as the house) and can control payoutrates and odds and, as a consequence, can increase the revenue takenfrom the game. Additionally, these poker-type games are very attractiveto many of the gambling public, and the mere fact that they areavailable in a particular casino has the potential to increase consumertraffic and revenue there.

A variety of innovative stratagems have been employed to make poker-typegames more appealing to casino gamblers. For example, manypoker-variants are designed to let the players compete against thehouse, rather than against each other. In other cases, progressivebetting has been utilized, wherein the player may increase his or herbet during the play of a hand. This makes the game more exciting to theplayer and potentially more profitable for the casino. Jackpots havebeen introduced, including progressive jackpots that increase in sizeuntil unique player events occur, wherein certain card combinations inthe player's hand result in an enhanced payout to that player. Finally,computer implementations of these games are always an attractivepossibility, with video based casino games, computer games, multiplayerplatforms and internet games becoming increasingly popular.

In addition to novel games being introduced into casinos, novel bettingformats have also been introduced. It is still beneficial to provideadditional wagering formats and structures to add both interest to thegame and better control over house retention and player awards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiment of this invention introduces a bonus feature tocard games that can be used in table card games, slot machine Draw Pokergames (played against a paytable), games played against paytable anddealer, such as 3 Card Poker® games, 4 Card Poker™ games, and the like,and traditional Blackjack games that play mainly against a dealer butinclude some different pay events as bonus type elements (Insurance,Blackjack, pairs, streaks of cards, consecutive blackjack wagers, etc.).These latter games may take the form of traditional table games, mixedphysical games and electronic inputs or fully electronic table games,known as multi-terminal games or Multiplayer Platforms. The inventioncreates variety in payout events and allows one card from the deck to beselected as having more significance or importance than others.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a methodof playing a game of chance using a plurality of value indicators, thegame having a bonus feature, the method including the steps of:

-   (a) at least one player placing a wager in an underlying game;-   (b) designating one or more of the value indicators as a bonus    trigger;-   (c) allocating one or more value indicators to each player's hand in    the underlying game;-   (d) evaluating each player's hand to determine if it is a winning    hand;-   (e) determining if the or each winning hand is participating in the    bonus feature;-   (f) determining if any winning hand includes a bonus value    indicator;-   (g) awarding a bonus to the or each winning hand which was    participating in the bonus feature and which includes a bonus value    indicator.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a methodof playing a game of chance using a plurality of playing cards from atleast one deck of standard playing cards, the game having a bonusfeature, and the method including the steps of:

-   at least one player placing a wager in an underlying card game;-   designating one or more of the playing cards at least by rank as a    bonus trigger;-   allocating at least one playing card to each player's hand in the    underlying game;-   evaluating each player's hand to determine if it is a winning hand;-   determining if each winning hand is participating in the bonus    feature;-   determining if any winning hand includes a designated bonus trigger;-   awarding a bonus to each winning hand which was participating in the    bonus feature and which includes a designated bonus trigger.

Preferably a player must make a side bet wager to participate in thebonus feature. Preferably also a playing card is designated as a bonustrigger by random selection of at least playing card rank. Preferablyalso a playing card is designated as a bonus trigger by predefinition ofat least playing card rank according to rules of the game. Preferablyalso the underlying game is a poker game in which a player's hand iscompared with a paytable.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a methodof implementing a bonus feature in a game of chance using at least aplurality of value indicators for play of an underlying game, the methodincluding the steps of:

-   (a) designating one or more of the value indicators or an extra    value indicator as a bonus trigger indicator;-   (b) allocating one or more value indicators to each player's at    least initial or partial hand;-   (d) evaluating each player's initial, partial or final hand to    determine if it is a winning hand;-   (e) determining if the winning hand or each winning hand is    participating in the bonus feature;-   (f) determining if any winning hand includes a bonus value    indicator;-   (g) awarding a bonus to the or each winning hand which was    participating in the bonus feature.

The invention also provides a method of playing a game including such abonus feature.

Each player's participation in the bonus feature can be optional or bean automatic element of play in the underlying game.

Each player can elect to participate in an optional bonus feature bymaking a side bet.

The method can include the step of awarding a standard prize to winninghands not participating in the bonus feature but having (or not having)the extra value indicator.

The value indicators can be playing cards.

A player or the dealer can nominate or designate the bonus card beforethe players have viewed their cards and/or before the cards are dealt.

The bonus card can be an ace, joker, specialty card or any otherdesignated playing card, preferably of a specific rank.

The method can include the step of permitting each player to make anadditional wager after the replacement cards have been dealt.

According to a forth aspect of the invention there is provided anelectronic gaming machine (EGM) having a memory, a processor and adisplay, the EGM being adapted to implement the above-mentioned methods.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided anelectronic gaming machine in single player or multiplayer format adaptedto implement the above methods.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention there is provided amulti-terminal electronic gaming machine adapted to implement the abovemethods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment or embodiments of the present invention will now bedescribed, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a paytable showing standard and bonus payouts;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an electronic gaming machine(EGM);

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a multi-terminal EGM.

FIG. 5 illustrates an arrangement for playing a table game implementingthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingfigures. A game embodying the invention can be played by one or moreplayers. In one version, each player plays against a paytable, so thateach player with a winning hand receives a prize. In another version,the players' hands are mutually evaluated to determine a single winner.In still another version, the players' hands may be evaluated incomparison with a dealer's hand to determine one or more winners. Theseversions can be played as a table game, or on an EGM.

In the paytable of FIG. 2, the value of the cards in not relevant to thepayout except in the case of a Royal Flush and a high pair (Jacks orbetter). For example, three twos pay the same as three nines. There arealso four of each kind of ranked card (e.g., clubs, diamonds, hearts andspades for each rank). The bonus card feature provides a means ofdifferentiating the value or identity of one card.

In an embodiment of the invention, one or more value indicators, such asa predetermined card, are designated to trigger a bonus prize.

Using the example of Draw Poker, a player is dealt five cards, and hasthe option to discard between none and 5 cards. The discarded cards arereplaced, and based on the particular rules designated for the game, theresulting hand is paid against a paytable. The better (higher ranking,or in case of low poker, the lower ranking) the combination, the higherthe prize.

In one embodiment of the invention, the Ace card (or one or more of theAce cards) can be designated as the bonus card. A hand with the bonuscard receives double the standard prize where the bonus card is involvedin a winning combination.

The bonus feature can be activated by an additional wager or side bet orbe an automatic part of the underlying game.

The bonus prize can be a based on the side bet, or on the initial wager,or on the combination of the initial wager and the side bet.

In a first embodiment of the invention, a deck of cards (e.g., astandard deck of 52 cards) is used to play poker, and one or more cardsin the deck are designated as bonus cards.

Each player places an initial wager (the “ante”) to enter the underlyinggame. Those players wishing to activate the bonus feature may then berequired place an additional wager (the side bet).

The symbols or cards are dealt to the players as an initial or partialhand of playing cards.

Players can elect to discard from none to all their cards, andreplacement cards are dealt for the discarded cards.

The players' hands of cards are then evaluated and winning hands areawarded a prize according to a paytable. Those winning hands which areeligible for the bonus according to rules described for the presentinvention are paid the bonus.

The bonus card can be designated at the beginning of the game or atanother point in the game. In particular, the bonus card can bedesignated randomly by the gaming system or by revelation of apreviously provided, but not revealed or revealed display of a bonuscard after the players' hands have been evaluated. In another embodimentthe bonus card can be designated by one of the players prior to thecards being dealt. In a live game this may be done by allowing theplayer to pick the bonus card from a bonus deck of cards that are nototherwise used in the game. In an EGM, the bonus card may be selectedfrom a virtual bonus deck which is navigated using the EGM touchscreenor input buttons. The bonus card deck may comprise a full standard deckof cards (having all cards from all four suites) or a selected subset ofcards for example only face cards (jack, queen and king) or only aces.

A non-limiting embodiment of the invention applied to a draw poker gameis illustrated in the flow diagram of FIG. 1.

One or more players initially elect to participate in a game at 102.

Each player can then elect to participate in the bonus feature by, forexample, placing a side bet at 104.

When the initial wagers and side bets are placed, initial wagering isclosed and the initial cards forming an initial hand are dealt at 108.

Each player can then elect to discard none to all the initial cardsdealt to that player at 110.

Replacement cards are dealt at 112 to replace the discarded cards.

The players' hands are then evaluated at 114.

First, the hands are checked against a paytable at 116 to see if theyhave won a prize. If a hand has not won a prize, that player's interestin the game ends.

A further round of wagering (not shown) can take place after thereplacement cards have been dealt.

However, if a hand wins a prize, a check or examination of the winninghand is made at 120 to determine whether the player with that hand hadelected to participate in the bonus function. If the player did notchoose the bonus option, the standard prize is awarded to the player at122. If the player did choose the bonus option, the bonus prize isawarded at 126.

The paytable of FIG. 2 shows the standard payout and the bonus payoutfor a poker game with a standard 52 Card deck where the player is paidfor a pair of Jacks or better, up to a Royal Flush. The column on theright hand side displays the bonus paytable whenever an Ace is involved.As a Royal Flush already includes an Ace by definition, this does notchange.

In an alternative embodiment, the game of Blackjack could be playedwhere any win against the dealer with an Ace (excluding Blackjack) ispaid at an increased (over 1:1) rate, such as 3:2 or twice the normalvalue of award, or a flat amount (e.g., from the minimum wager amount ata table up to the maximum wager amount at a table, or even outside thatrange). Other games like 3 Card Poker® games that play against apaytable on one bet and the dealer on another may incorporate a bonus inboth parts of the game.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the bonus card can be selectedon a game-by-game basis. Alternatively a player or the dealer cannominate the bonus card before the cards are dealt or a random numbergenerator may designate the card. It is to be noted that this bonus cardis not merely a match symbol award (as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,969(Yoseloff), but requires that the card be part of the hand and then theaward for that hand, if any, is increased.

The bonus card can be selected on a sequential basis (e.g., beginningwith 2, then 3, then 4, etc. up to Ace), selected by a player or dealer,or it can be selected on a random or pseudo-random basis by a randomnumber generating system.

In the context of a table game, one deck of cards (real or virtual) canbe used to deal the players' hands, and a separate second deck (real orvirtual) can be used for the selection of the bonus card. For example,the second deck can be shuffled and cut to decide the bonus card,preferably by an automatic shuffler such as the ACE® shuffler fromShuffle Master, Inc.

A live or hybrid table apparatus for the play of the game may comprise aflat gaming surface, individual player positions having card receivingarea and wagering positions for an underlying wager and a side betwager, and a card display area for the bonus card display. The carddisplay area may be a display screen or an area to hold a physical card.

The game can be played on a multi-terminal gaming machine, a multiplayerplatform, a slot machine or using a deck of cards.

A bonus prize is awarded in any instance where a designated bonus cardis included in a player's winning hand, or may be limited to where thecard is an essential part of winning rank for a player's winning hand.For example, if the bonus card is a 2, and the player's winning hand isfour aces, even though the 2 is a kicker or other card in the hand, itis not part of the structure that causes the hand to be a winner. On theother hand, if the bonus card is a 2 and the player's winning hand is astraight of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, then the bonus card is an essential partof the winning rank of the hand. The bonus may be percentage increasesin underlying awards, multipliers of underlying awards, free plays (orfree spins at the same underlying wager amount), or fixed amounts forawards.

In various implementations, the designated card may be used to beat thedealer in a game like Blackjack and some Poker games, or to improve on apaytable prize as in some poker games For example, in blackjack, if thebonus card is preselected, a player may be allowed to double or triplethe value of a bonus card if it is one of the first two cards in aplayer's hand. For example, if the bonus card is a six, and the firsttwo cards of the player's hand are a 6 and an 8, for a traditional countof 14, the player can double the value of the 6 to 12, and the initialhand count becomes 20, which is a significant advantage to the player.The changing of the value of the card may be to allow increasing thevalue by a specific amount (e.g., 1 or 2), and the change may precludeforming a count of 21 or another value (e. g., 20) to control the oddsof a dealer hand winning in the game. In a poker game, the designatedcard may be an artificially high ranking card, whatever its actual rank.In that case, if a player has a flush of 2, 4, 6, 7 and Jack (with the 2again being the designated bonus card) and the dealer had a flush of 6,8, 10, Jack, Ace, the bonus card “2” could be considered the highestranked card in the deck for purposes of pairs or flushes and the playerhand with the 2 as part of the rank determining cards (here the flush)would win in a circumstance in which the player would ordinarily lose.In another embodiment of blackjack, if the player and dealer tie or“push” (standard rules dictate that neither the player nor the dealerswins and the player keeps his wager but wins nothing) then if either onehas the designated bonus card in their hand then the presence of thebonus card causes them to win. In this instance the payout ratios may bealtered such that if a player wins due to the presence of the bonus cardin the event of a tie then the player only wins a portion (e.g. half) orin some cases an increased multiple (e.g. twice) what would normally bepaid for a win. It is also preferred that if the dealer were to win dueto the presence of a bonus card, the player could then lose only afraction of their bet, say half, instead on losing the entire bet.

The preferred option is in Poker games played against a paytable and/ordealer where the paytable has a list of prizes paid based on certainattainable combinations. The popular game of Draw Poker is familiar tomany players as a simple poker game where players play against apaytable. Players are only paid when they get certain highlighted cardcombinations. As an example, the invention allows the inclusion of anominated card to increase any prize, whether or not the nominated ordesignated card is part of the winning rank in the hand.

Variants can include different cards being nominated as the bonus card;awarding of different bonuses in different win instances; consecutivehands with bonus cards being involved in a pay further augment bonusprize values.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an electronic gaming machine(EGM) 300 suitable for use with an embodiment of the present invention.The EGM includes a display 308 and a number of input buttons 312 toenable the player to initiate actions or make responses as requiredduring the game. In a game where the player is playing against thehouse, the player's hand is displayed face up on the screen as it isdealt and the house hand is shown face down on the screen. Touch“buttons” 310 can be provided on the screen in addition to or instead ofthe buttons 312. In a further non-limiting configuration, one or more ofthe players can be located in separate locations, and the playerterminals or hand-held devices or player screens in rooms can beconnected to the controller via communication links (e.g., hardwired orwireless). Standard protocols, software, hardware and processorlanguages may be used in these communication links, without any knownlimitation. There are hundreds of available computer languages that maybe used, among the more common being Ada; Algol; APL; awk; Basic; C;C++; Cobol; Delphi; Eiffel; Euphoria; Forth; Fortran; HTML; Icon; Java;Javascript; Lisp; Logo; Mathematica; MatLab; Miranda; Modula-2; Oberon;Pascal; Perl; PL/I; Prolog; Python; Rexx; SAS; Scheme; sed; Simula;Smalltalk: Snobol; SQL; Visual Basic; Visual C++; and XML.

Any commercial processor may be used either as a single processor,serial or parallel set of processors in the system. Examples ofcommercial processors include, but are not limited to Merced™, Pentium™,Pentium II™, Xeon™, Celeron™, Pentium Pro™, Efficeon™, Athlon, AMD andthe like.

Display screens may be segment display screen, analogue display screens,digital display screens, CRTs, LED screens, Plasma screens, liquidcrystal diode screens, and the like.

The EGM 300 can be programmed to display a poker game played accordingto an embodiment of the invention. Thus the player's hand can be dealtface up and the bonus card can be selected from a full deck anddisplayed face down. The player can elect to participate in the bonusfeature before the bonus card is disclosed.

Various alternative wagering opportunities can be provided by dealingthe player and bonus cards face down and then displaying the cards inone of several ways. For example, the player's cards and the bonus cardcan be dealt face down and the player can elect to participate in thebonus before any player cards are disclosed. The player cards can bedisplayed one at a time, with an opportunity to participate in the bonusfeature after each card is disclosed while the bonus card remains facedown.

Other wagering methods can readily be implemented by a skilled workerbased on the disclosure of the invention herein.

A bonus card can be decided at a point in the game of the player'schoosing or as determined by the specific rules of the game, butpreferably before any of the player's cards or any other cards in thedeck or set (real or virtual) have been disclosed to the player. This isto prevent a player from selecting cards known to be in the player'shand, which would be less than random. For example, the bonus card canbe displayed before the cards are dealt, or before the player viewscards or makes a decision as whether to change one or more cards. In afurther alternative, the randomly selected bonus card can be displayedafter the player has changed one or more cards. A still furtherpossibility is to display the bonus card after the house hand has beendisclosed. Different bonus prizes can be determined by the time at whichthe bonus card is displayed.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a multi-terminal EGM 400. Playersare seated around a table 406. Each player is provided with a personalscreen 408 to 416 to display each player's hand to the player. Aprocessor 404 controls the play and responds to player inputs.

A community display 402 is visible to all players. The community display402 can display the bonus card 428 face down until the point in the gamewhere it is to be disclosed or disclose it earlier.

The community display can display all players' hands 418, 420, 422, 424,426 face down until wagering has finished. The cards of each hand can bedisplayed one at a time when wagering has finished. However, where theplayers are playing against each other, as distinct from against thehouse, an option is to display only the winning hand.

FIG. 5 shows a table game arrangement for playing a game implementing anembodiment of the invention. A table 502 has a number of players seatedaround it so they can play the player hands 508, 510, 512, 514, 516, anda dealer position 506.

The dealer deals the player hands from a first deck or set of cards.When the players have had an opportunity to change cards if they chooseto do so, the remainder of the first deck is set aside.

In one embodiment, the dealer can also have a second deck of cards 504,and this deck can be used to determine the bonus card.

Where ever it is used, the word “comprising” is to be understood in its“open” sense, that is, in the sense of “including”, and thus not limitedto its “closed” sense, that is the sense of “consisting only of”. Acorresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words“comprise”, “comprised” and “comprises” where they appear.

It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined hereinextends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individualfeatures mentioned or evident from the text. All of these differentcombinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

While particular embodiments of this invention have been described, itwill be evident to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be embodied in other specific forms without departing from theessential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments and examplesare therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all modifications which would be obvious to thoseskilled in the art are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

1. A method of playing a game of chance using a plurality of valueindicators, the game having a bonus feature, the method including thesteps of: (a) at least one player placing a wager in an underlying game;(b) designating one or more of the value indicators as a bonus trigger;(c) allocating one or more value indicators to each player's hand in theunderlying game; (d) evaluating each player's hand to determine if it isa winning hand; (e) determining if the or each winning hand isparticipating in the bonus feature; (f) determining if any winning handincludes a bonus value indicator; (g) awarding a bonus to the or eachwinning hand which was participating in the bonus feature and whichincludes a bonus value indicator.
 2. A method as claimed in claim 1,wherein each player can elect to participate in the bonus feature.
 3. Amethod as claimed in claim 2, wherein a player elects to participate inthe bonus feature by placing a side bet.
 4. A method as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, including the step of awarding a standardprize to winning hands not participating in the bonus feature.
 5. Amethod as claimed in claim 1 wherein the value indicators are playingcards.
 6. A method as claimed in claim 5 including the step ofpermitting each player to make an additional wager after the replacementcards have been dealt.
 7. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein thebonus card is designated after step (d).
 8. A method as claimed in claim5 wherein a player, a processor or the dealer nominates the bonus cardbefore the players have viewed their cards or before the cards aredealt.
 9. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the bonus card is aplaying card of a specific rank.
 10. A method as claimed in claim 5wherein cards are dealt to players from a first deck and the bonus cardis selected from a second deck of cards.
 11. A method as claimed inclaim 9, wherein the game is a table game.
 12. An electronic gamingmachine adapted to implement the method of claim
 5. 13. A multi-terminalelectronic gaming machine adapted to implement the method of claim 5.14. A method of playing a game of chance using a plurality of playingcards from at least one deck of standard playing cards, the game havinga bonus feature, and the method including the steps of: at least oneplayer placing a wager in an underlying card game; designating one ormore of the playing cards at least by rank as a bonus trigger;allocating at least one playing card to each player's hand in theunderlying game; evaluating each player's hand to determine if it is awinning hand; determining if each winning hand is participating in thebonus feature; determining if any winning hand includes a designatedbonus trigger; awarding a bonus to each winning hand which wasparticipating in the bonus feature and which includes a designated bonustrigger.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein a player must make a sidebet wager to participate in the bonus feature.
 16. The method of claim15 wherein a playing card is designated as a bonus trigger by randomselection of at least playing card rank.
 17. The method of claim 15wherein a playing card is designated as a bonus trigger by predefinitionof at least playing card rank according to rules of the game.
 18. Themethod of claim 15 wherein the underlying game is a poker game in whicha player's hand is compared with a paytable.
 19. An electronic gamingmachine (EGM) apparatus comprising a player input, memory and a display,wherein the memory comprises software enabling play of the method ofclaim 14 and display of information relative to the play.